


Sugar

by Queen_of_the_Ruckus



Series: Afternoon Tea [1]
Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: Flashback Era, Fluff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:54:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24325354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_of_the_Ruckus/pseuds/Queen_of_the_Ruckus
Summary: The first moments of their bond from Raizel's perspective.
Relationships: Cadis Etrama Di Raizel & Frankenstein (Noblesse), Cadis Etrama di Raizel/Frankenstein (Noblesse)
Series: Afternoon Tea [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889767
Comments: 14
Kudos: 106





	Sugar

One sip, and his eyes were opened, he was filled with such vibrance and life as he'd never felt before. Not when he'd looked into the soul of a transgressor. Not even in the days before he'd mastered his own strength, feeling everything around him without filter.

Nobles simply weren't the same as humans. And this human, his now, was especially bright. 

_His._

He rolled the idea around like sugar on his tongue, tasting it, savoring it, making himself believe that it wasn't something that could quickly melt away. He wouldn’t let it.

He had never owned anything in his life. Even the manor, its grounds, his _home_ , it was all transient. A place to linger and spend his centuries until it was time for him to expire, destined to belong to someone else once he no longer occupied its third story study. But now this brilliant, golden life was his, and his alone. This fiery, unshackled soul had just slipped him a bit of his own blood and soul, had knelt before him, had claimed him as a master. 

And a Master he would be.

As the Noblesse, he'd never before held authority over another, except in matters of judgment. And while this man had been sheltered under his protection since he'd first sought shelter in his home, Frankenstein was now his to tend to and protect. This man would now obey his will, had put his trust in him completely. And that was something more precious than anything he could name or imagine.

And he felt this mirrored in Frankenstein, as well. The will to protect _him_ of all people, radiating from his Bonded like the light from the sun. And it warmed him, twisted his feelings in strange new ways. 

Heat rushed to Raizel's face at the intensity of emotion, his own overshadowed by those freshly borrowed through the conduit of blood. A fevered sort of desperation and love tore through him, tore through them both, and their souls found each other and clung together tight, until they were blurred together at the edges, the beginning of their bond beginning to take shape.

To belong to someone. There was a strange sort of comfort in that knowledge. A surrender of self, of some portion of the burden of existence onto the shoulders of another. He could feel this relief keenly as he bonded with Frankenstein. To belong… With a jealous pang, he extended his focus to the entity known as the Dark Spear. His concern did not dissolve at finding it, at the moment, contained and controlled, but ever reaching. A blight, bound to his Bonded by a prior agreement. 

Quietly, he offered a piece of himself to the weapon, something for them to gnaw at in their madness, a bright easy bit of soul to distract them from his Bonded. Frankenstein was _his_ , it was the time to renegotiate the terms of Dark Spear’s cohabitation.

It was not their first taste of Raizel. And while he could sense their dishonesty, see their intentions to claim them both the moment they were able, a deal struck with the Noblesse was not to be violated so lightly. They shuddered to themselves as they turned to feed off of their new addition, quieting their outward whispers.

The brilliant light welling up within him, the scrap of Frankenstein’s soul exchanged for a piece of his own, it claimed ownership over him in such a way that he found himself suddenly a little shy of what he’d just done. This, he silenced. His decisions were not something to be questioned once resolved. They were not something that _could_ be questioned, given their finality.

For an endless moment, he simply closed his eyes and _savored_. And to his immense relief, satisfaction, and resultant contented bliss, he found that Frankenstein was in no rush to rouse him. That his Bonded would rather be nowhere else than with him. Here.

The endlessly industrious spark invading him began picking through him, attempting to categorize and diagnose his inevitable. Flitting from place to place, feeling him out.

Raizel’s concern relaxed somewhat. He and Frankenstein were incredibly similar in some respects. Instead, he allowed his Bonded to shore him up in small ways, covertly adding pieces of himself to smooth out the especially damaged parts of his soul. To think that this would go unnoticed was folly. Raizel’s domain was blood and soul - each alteration stood out to him in sharp relief as though illuminated. But he relished the feel of it. A transfusion of life force given freely and out of love. A new brightness in his very soul.

To keep his Bonded from feeling the results of his actions too keenly, he shifted a little more of himself over to fill up what he was now missing. He knew that Frankenstein would never allow such fatigue to show, but why allow him to experience it in the first place? This man was his, he did not need to allow what he did not wish. And if that part of himself was awash in his Bonded to an intoxicating degree, well, his Bonded belonged to him. It was his right to enjoy him to the extent that he pleased.

He scarcely paid Dark Spear’s acidic ripping and tearing any mind. Pain drifted away into his background. Pain was easily forgotten when faced with the slow changing of the seasons, with the return of regular creatures before his window year after year. Pain was nothing at all when blinded by his Bonded’s bright soul. 

He could watch Frankenstein for years, never sure of what exactly he was up to, his comings and goings an ever-shifting mystery. Ten years of careful observation and consideration had gone by with a mystifying speed. It seemed as though he was always doing something new, just as Raizel thought that perhaps he was beginning to understand. Honestly, it was exhausting trying to keep up. But the thoughts and emotions pouring into him from their coalescing bond told him that Frankenstein did not expect for him to keep up or understand. That he was pouring himself into bringing his Master new ideas to consider, new tastes and colors and scents to enjoy. His Bonded endeavored to bring to him every ounce of human joy and interest, purely so that Raizel could experience them for himself. His Bonded sought to give him life. A life. And now, an extension to his life. It was sweeter than anything he’d yet to taste. 

Frankenstein was his life, and now he no longer had to anticipate his absence. Frankenstein had told him, was telling him, that he would never leave. Raizel’s soul would burn out and fade into nothing, and Frankenstein would remain. He would not be alone, even as he fell into eternal sleep. Or eternal absence, he supposed. Eternal sleep was only available to Nobles who _didn’t_ set fire to their own souls, after all. With a pang, he regretted that he would not linger on in existence, that he could not simply pass on his will and emotions, all that made him who he was, on to his Bonded to carry through time. He was the one who would fail out, in the end. 

All that Frankenstein was asking of him was his time. The right to stand beside him and with him, to remain. This was within his power to grant, and with a rush, he began to pick through his Bonded. His Frankenstein was heavily modified, countless experiments scarring him on the inside, even if they did not show on his flawless skin. With the utmost attention and care, Raizel subtly lessened the knots of scar tissue, realigned his modifications to fit smoothly, repaired the slight damages to genetic material, following the path of his blood to ensure ease and perfection. He lifted the weight of time from his body, granting him a full halt to any natural aging, fulfilling what he had already partially attained by his own great ingenuity.

And since, for better or for worse, he had already interfered with Frankenstein’s weapon and could not be certain of the repercussions, Raizel poured the full range of his own powers into his Bonded, available to him in case of danger. Raizel was gradually becoming aware of his own gripping need to have Frankenstein with him. He had no intention of allowing him to be in a situation where he would be forced to burn himself away to stay alive, but he wasn’t going to risk leaving him defenseless, either. His own position and all that it entailed was still mercifully unknown to most everyone alive, but in this instance, that only meant that his identity would not protect the one Bonded to him simply by association. Raizel knew that he was increasingly a target of ill will, and he would not risk losing Frankenstein to that a second time. A formal bond came with certain benefits, and now, given the chance to experience it for himself, Raizel found himself giving Frankenstein everything that he possibly could.

Abruptly, Raizel found himself aware of how inundated he was, dizzy in the light of his Bonded. Frankenstein’s soul whispered soothingly to him, wrapped around him, laced through him, a soft murmur to distract him from his concerns. _I can take care of myself_ , he said. _Let me take care of_ you _. I am yours, let me serve you_.

He froze up, suddenly uncertain. The whole experience had been so overwhelmingly _much_. Pulled from his own immediate list of concerns, Raizel was at risk of being completely overcome, unable to communicate. His mind and soul were so inundated in vibrant colors and strong emotions that he began to drift in the rush of everything that was Frankenstein, attempting to take in all of him at once, but so woefully unequipped to do so. So unpracticed at accepting love.

Raizel at last opened his eyes to find his Bonded already looking up at him from where he knelt on the floor, such a tender expression on his face that he was almost overwhelmed again. His mind began to break down each emotion, each thought, each brightness, into a piece to be turned over and over in his soul. Endlessly examined, disseminated, appreciated, and enjoyed. Everything was a gift to him, and he would not waste a single thing that was given.

It was more dizzying to him than stepping out into the grounds he could view from his window, when he could suddenly attach so much more depth, so many more facets, to what he had already dwelt upon and cherished for so many centuries. He could scarcely remember such trivial things as his own identity, where he was going, or what he was supposed to do once he got there when faced with the entirely different view of the forest, the addition of sounds and sensations across his skin, of being a part of the scenery.

“Master.”

The soft voice carried with it the hot undercurrent of feverish emotions, the plush satiation that comes of getting everything that one wants and more. Raizel luxuriated in it, another gift for him to enjoy. Frankenstein observed this, almost ready to break from such a tender display. Through their bond, he could see his Master’s splintered trail of thoughts as he attempted to enjoy and understand everything about him; so much of what Raizel focused on was what he would dismiss as being inconsequential. To his Master, everything about him was a treasure.

Quietly, entirely regretful, Frankenstein slowly drew away. He watched carefully, gauging the effect of his withdrawal, of the gentle narrowing of their bond. When at last Raizel’s eyes seemed to register him again, his hands closing with great care around the fresh cup of tea, he ceased his retreat. Here, now, was the amount that his Master could handle without growing unresponsive with empathetic consideration.

With a bit of a shock, Raizel took his first sip of his tea. The bitter emptiness took him entirely by surprise, his face automatically going vacant to preserve his Bonded’s feelings at his disappointment. 

Frankenstein could have slapped himself. In his desperation to be closer to his Master, he had spiked his favorite drink. He hadn’t truly expected this outcome. He couldn’t have possibly been prepared, and while his Master surely understood his intent, he had never been bonded, either. He needed to remedy his mistake immediately, loathe to give up their oldest bonding ritual.

_If his tea now tasted bitter, that meant that to his Master he was--_

Frankenstein blushed.

“Master, would you like more sugar?”

**Author's Note:**

> 'Prophet' - King Princess


End file.
